Age Action Alliance Weekly Member’s News – 16 January 2017

The BBC are looking for a group of friends (2 or more) who have been friends since the 60s.They are doing a piece about lasting friendships and would like to film with a group in the next few weeks! If you are interested please contact Holly directly on: holly.hamilton@bbc.co.uk or telephone 0161 33 57600

Older Private Renters Conference, Tuesday 24 January 2017, 1pm to 5pm at the Dutch Centre, 7 Austin Friars, London EC2N 2HA. In future, more and more older people in London are likely to be private sector tenants. Private renting can be linked to issues like lack of security for tenants, fast rising rents and sometimes, poor quality homes. Age UK London is investigating the wishes and needs of present day older private renters in order to influence present and future policy and support. Please join us to hear more and debate the issue with invited expert speakers and policy makers. Booking and full details are via event brite here.

Age UK Lambeth are holding a “Your Consumer Rights & Product Safety” Trading Standards Drop-in, Thursday 26 January, 9.30-12.30, at 336 Brixton Road, London. Officers from Lambeth’s Trading Standards Team will be on hand to advise you of your rights when buying goods and services in shops and online. Poster and details available here.

The Checkatrade Symposium, ‘Together we are Stronger’, will be taking place on Wednesday 22 February 2017, at The Venue in Edgbaston, Birmingham. Key note speakers will deliver thought provoking sessions during the day. Coming together as a panel to explore how, through partnership, we can make a difference in some of the following key areas:
 – Support people with dementia – Traders who are Dementia Friendly
 – Support scam victims – Traders who are Friends Against Scams Traders, refer victims etc.
 – Care Act – provide reputable care services and specialist trades people for home adaptation work
 – Economic growth – supporting SME’s and start ups
 – Intelligence gathering – consumer complaints, business data, vulnerable residents
 – Protecting the Environment – CAT traders follow good environmental practices
 – Modern day slavery
This event is for leaders and managers who would like to understand more about Local Authority Partnerships with Checkatrade, and how they are bringing benefits to regulatory services. To book a place at the Checkatrade Symposium, please click here.

Are you interested to engage with organisations such as NHS England andPublic Health England? Then this is for you. Dementia: Implementing Better Care, Thursday 20th April 2017, Manchester. Enjoy the opportunity to discuss the quality and consistency of dementia care across England one year from the publication of the Challenge on Dementia 2020 Implementation Plan in March 2016. The conference will bring together professionals from health and social care, academia, and the wider public, private and third sectors with those living with dementia to engage and learn from each other. Follow the links here to discover further benefits to attending, details of the programme, and how to register. If you need more information, contact, Jonathan Smith, jonathan.smith@ofenewsletters.co.uk or Telephone 0161 376 9007

Bereaved through Alcohol and Drugs (BEAD) Peer Support Groups – February-April 2017. The BEAD project is a partnership between Cruse Bereavement Care and Adfam, providing practical and emotional support and information specifically for anyone bereaved through a loved one’s drug or alcohol use. Cruse is the UK’s leading bereavement charity and Adfam is the national charity working to improve support for families affected by drug or alcohol use. They will be launching a new round of peer support groups held in central London and will consist of eight weekly sessions, the first of which is on Tuesday 21 February 2017. They have two highly-experienced BEAD peer support volunteers facilitating the group to provide emotional and practical support in a closed group setting to bereaved adults. This type of bereavement support can be very hard to come by and there only a few groups of this kind across the country. Follow the link to a full list of the dates and further information on the bereavement peer support groups. If you would like to attend the group or have any questions, contact Robert Stebbings, on 020 3817 9410

For your information

As the cold weather hits the UK, NEA, the UK fuel poverty charity and Chair of the ‘Safe, Warm Homes Working Group’ of the AAA has updated the very informative Fuel Poverty Action Guide. This is a practical guide helping you identify the best solutions for older people who are worried about keeping their homes warm and paying their energy bills. We know that cold homes are a bigger killer than drug abuse, alcohol abuse and road accidents combined, knowing how to keep your home warm can save lives. The Guide is free to download and disseminate across your networks.

Older People’s Cancer Voices. Meet David and Mike as they talk about the impact of their cancer diagnoses. David and Mike’s Stories are the first in a series of Older People’s Cancer Voices short films by the Older People’s Advocacy Alliance; this project is about amplifying the voices of older people affected by cancer, changing lives for older people through advocacy. You can watch these stories here and join the conversation on twitter @opaaluk, OPAAL will be sharing all of the films in this series under the hashtag #mycanceradvocacystory. For further information contact Ang Broadbridge at angela@opaal.org.uk

Facing Cancer Together. OPAAL, in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support, has recently published Facing Cancer Together: 12 stories demonstrating how having a peer advocate can help on a personalised level, bringing a lived experience to tackle some of the common problems associated with cancer. A diagnosis of cancer can commonly have an overwhelming emotional impact, not only for the person with the disease, but also for their friends and family. All 12 stories are an insight into the impact of cancer and Facing Cancer Together gives older people the opportunity to explain for themselves the positive impact that independent advocacy can have.